244 episodes
Politics Weekly UK The Guardian
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4.0 • 1.1K Ratings
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Guardian political columnist John Harris hosts a cast of voices from up and down the country as well as across the political spectrum to analyse the week’s political news. For US Politics with Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland, make sure to search 'Politics Weekly America' wherever you get your podcasts
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Cameron and Truss: former PMs stage their comebacks – Politics Weekly UK
How much should Britain get involved in the conflict in the Middle East? The Guardian’s John Harris is joined by the columnist Gaby Hinsliff and former national security adviser Peter Ricketts to talk about the fallout from Iran’s attack on Israel at the weekend. Plus, John talks to Gaby about smoking bans, NatCon and Liz Truss’s new book. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/politicspod
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David Cameron, Donald Trump and UK Arms Sales – Politics Weekly UK podcast
David Cameron made a surprise visit to Mar-a-Largo this week to visit Donald Trump. John Harris is joined by the Guardian’s political editor, Pippa Crerar, and the diplomatic editor, Patrick Wintour, to get the latest on the meeting. And as international pressure continues to build on Israel, John speaks to a former Israeli peace negotiator, Daniel Levy, on whether there is a pathway to end the war. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/politicspod
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Port Talbot and the future of British steel – Politics Weekly UK
Thousands of jobs are due to be cut this year at Tata Steel in Port Talbot, putting the future of British steel under serious threat. The Guardian political correspondent Kiran Stacey hears from workers at the plant and people in the town, as well as shadow Wales secretary Jo Stevens, about what this could mean for the area and beyond. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/politicspod
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Is China a major threat to British democracy? – Politics Weekly UK
Despite pressure from some Conservative MPs, the government stopped short of defining China as an official threat this week. How deep does Chinese interference in the UK go? John Harris speaks to the Guardian’s foreign leader writer Tania Branigan and deputy political editor, Peter Walker. As MPs break for Easter, they also discuss the state of the Conservative and Labour parties. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/politicspod
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When will Rishi Sunak’s zombie parliament end? Politics Weekly UK
Jeremy Hunt has implied the election will be in October, but even with a boost from falling inflation figures, can Rishi Sunak really hold this zombie government together for the next seven months? And what does Rachel Reeves’s Mais lecture tell us about Labour’s economic vision in these grim times? John Harris is joined by former No 10 director of communications Sir Craig Oliver and Guardian columnist Gaby Hinsliff. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/politicspod
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Frank Hester, the Tory party and racism – Politics Weekly UK
The Conservative party faces yet another crisis week as a major donor is accused of racism in a Guardian investigation and the MP for the red wall seat of Ashfield, Lee Anderson, announces his defection to Reform UK. The Guardian’s John Harris asks columnist Gaby Hinsliff and political correspondent Kiran Stacey why Rishi Sunak can’t seem to get his house in order. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/politicspod
Customer Reviews
Insightful episode on Starmer
That was a much better episode with Aletha Adu and Polly Toynbee getting good airtime. I like John Harris a lot and it’s better when he lets the others have space to develop arguments and doesn’t interrupt them as much. I have adhd so can’t help interrupting so I do know how hard it is :)
Empathy
The interview with Daniel Levy was very good but especially your last question when you asked Daniel how he was feeling. That showed real human empathy which is all too rare in political interviews, let alone politics more generally. It must be especially difficult for Daniel as an Israeli able to see both the Palestinian perspective and the terrible, perhaps irrepairable damage that Israel has done to its image and reputation worldwide.
Too many ‘moderate’ Tories
This media fixation with treating people like David Gauke and Gavin Williamson as independent analysts has to stop. The space for new political ideas has become so narrow in the last 14 years that the criteria to judge the performance of the government is overwhelmingly determined by rightwing figures. These people are NOT objective or moderate. They have a vested interest in the Conservatives succeeding and their incredibly caveated criticisms reflect this. I am also tired of listening to John Harris’s tedious contrarian attitude to Labour and Keir Starmer. He doesn’t take the time to listen to Starmer’s thoughtful speeches on social class. As Polly Toynbee so rightly said after the Lab conference, he doesn’t know what he wants.